Manuel Pellegrini has hailed new signing Jack Wilshere as a great asset for West Ham.

Midfielder Wilshere joined the Premier League club on a three-year deal on Monday after ending his long association with Arsenal, who allowed him to leave as a free agent at the end of his contract.

Hampered by injuries in the past, the England international made 20 league appearances in the 2017-18 season but now starts a fresh chapter of his career.

Wilshere, who will wear number 19, linked up with his West Ham team-mates at a pre-season training camp in Switzerland on Tuesday, with Pellegrini praising the 26-year-old s desire to play for the club he supported as a boy.

Jack is a player with excellent technical ability, combined with great energy and commitment, …

Dundee and Livingston were the only cinch Premiership clubs to announce signings by mid-afternoon on deadline day but more business is expected at Celtic and Rangers among others.

Dundee re-signed Norwich goalkeeper Jon McCracken on loan while Livingston completed a move for Inverness midfielder David Carson.

Celtic are set to wrap up the loan signing of Norwich and Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah, who has scored seven goals this season, after the 22-year-old arrived in Glasgow on Wednesday.

Several players could be on their way out of Celtic Park with David Turnbull and Mikey Johnston tipped to join Cardiff and West Brom respectively, and James Forrest linked with an exit.

But Gustaf Lagerbielke’s proposed loan move to Italian side Lecce could be…

West Ham have settled a compensation claim from former manager Alan Curbishley it was announced here on Wednesday.

In November, Curbishley won his case for wrongful dismissal against the Premier League club after his resignation from the east London side in September 2008.

But the issue of compensation was still outstanding.

Curbishley, 52, guided the Hammers to 10th place in his only full season in charge after making his name as a manager with London rivals Charlton, whom he helped establish as a top-flight club.

However, he quit Upton Park when players were sold against his wishes.

The League Managers Association (LMA) said Wednesday that Curbishley was entitled to resign because the sales constituted a breach of his contract.

We can …

With Manchester United finally accustomed to life under manager Louis van Gaal, former defender Gary Neville believes the Premier League giants can only get better following Sunday s derby win.

United claimed bragging rights and consolidated third position in the table after routing reigning champions Manchester City 4-2 in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford the club s first derby win since 2012.

Goals from Ashley Young, Marouane Fellaini, Juan Mata and Chris Smalling cancelled out City s eighth-minute opener via Sergio Aguero, who netted a consolation in the final minute of regulation time, as United moved four points clear of their neighbours with six matches remaining.

Having chalked up impressive victories over City, Liverpool and Tottenham in the past mont…

Chelsea are considering a move to sign Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain, .

The proposed offer casts doubts over the future of current first-choice forward Diego Costa, who has scored three goals in all competitions so far this season.

Higuain is one of a number of forwards being monitored by the Premier League champions, who currently sit just two places above the relegation zone, fifteen points behind leaders Manchester City.

The Argentina international moved to Naples from Real Madrid in the summer of 2013, and has so far racked up one hundred and seventeen appearances for the club, scoring sixty-five goals.

He was also a consistent goal-scorer in his six-and-a-half years in La Liga, where his strikes helped fire Real to three championships and the C…

Gabriele Gravina said he cannot be the undertaker of Italian football as the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president tries to restart the 2019-20 Serie A season.

Serie A was suspended indefinitely in March due to the coronavirus pandemic and the FIGC has already stated that the campaign will not resume until the health and safety of all concerned can be guaranteed.

Italy s minister for sport Vincenzo Spadafora is hoping to confirm a May 4 date for the return to Serie A training as soon as possible, with the current restrictions on movement and outdoor activities set to end on May 3.

Gravina is desperate to resume the campaign and the FIGC chief warned of the negative impact, should the Serie A season not be completed.

At the moment there are two app…

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Scotland and Austria will face each other in their opening 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign this week. Steve Clarke’s side and Franco Foda’s team will lock horns with each other at Hampden Park in Glasgow on Thursday. The Group F game is slated to kick off at 7:45pm UK time.

Scotland

Scotland are having huge success under manager Clarke. They have qualified for the European Championship in the summer of 2021, and the fans must be excited. Scotland have a good team with hard-working players, and the football-mad country have long awaited taste of competitive football in a major competition.

The Scots will be determined to head into the European Championship in good form, and tha…

(GSM) Barcelona hoped to match the splendid performances of 2009 in the new year, but after two weeks in 2010 their hopes have vanished.

In the Copa del Rey, Sevilla was the stronger team on aggregate, and Barcelona exited its first competition under coach Josep Guardiola

This hurts, said an emotional Guardiola afterwards.

Barca won the second leg of the last 16 tie 1-0 in the Andalusian capital but a 2-1 defeat in last week s home leg meant they were eliminated on the away goals rule, Guardiola s first taste of failure since he took over last season.

It s not good news, even if people will say that we can now concentrate on La Liga and the Champions League, said Guardiola.

In sport we are not taught how to lose and this has affected us.

…

Didier Deschamps has named Andre-Pierre Gignac in the France squad for the first time since the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The Marseille striker has scored three times in Ligue 1 this season and features in Deschamps 25-man squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Belarus in September.

Gignac was part of the France squad that refused to train at the World Cup in South Africa after Nicolas Anelka s expulsion.

However, Deschamps confirmed that the 27-year-old s domestic form saw him recalled.

Newcastle United midfielder Yohan Cabaye is one of the notable absentees, having not played in a competitive game for his club this season.

The former Lille man is the subject of interest from Arsenal and had been a regular fixture in Deschamps selections.

…

Pep Guardiola is ready to be targeted by critics at Manchester City, despite having mainly enjoyed adulation in his managerial career so far.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss insists he is nothing special, explaining he only receives attention and fanfare because he has been able to win silverware.

Guardiola, who is preparing City to face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, thinks all of the Premier League managers are operating at the highest level and accepts the critics will come for him before long.

The City boss was asked how he coped with the scrutiny of his methods and revealed he barely looks at what is said about him, even though he has been the subject of books and documentaries.

Do you know why? It is because we won, he sa…